Andre Keet University of The Free State

Director, International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

Andre Keet University of The Free State, André Keet joined the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in 1996 and was appointed as Director of the National Centre for Human Education and Training (NACHRET) of the SAHRC in 2000. He sat on various academic and non-academic advisory structures related to human rights and social justice in education and headed the human rights and inclusivity task teams appointed by the Minister of Education to develop the National Curriculum Statements for General Education and Training and Further Education and Training from 2001 to 2003. Dr. Keet also served as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) of the South African Human Rights Commission and briefly functioned as a Commissioner on the Commission for Gender Equality. Since 2011, Prof. Keet is the Director of the International Institute for the Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice at the University of the Free State. André holds a Masters in Education and a PhD degree from the University of Pretoria.

Andre Keet University of The Free State, I first entered higher education on a full-time professional basis in October 2008 when I became the Director of the Transdisciplinary Programme at the University of Fort Hare. Post- 1994 I worked in and with independent public institutions responsible for navigating the crucial transitional phase in South Africa’s contemporary history.

I joined the South African Human Rights Commission in 1996 and later on became its Deputy Chief Executive Officer. Nominated by parliament, I was appointed by the President as a Commissioner on the Commission for Gender Equality in 2008. I also took up a position as an adjunct professor in education at the University of Pretoria in 2009; and am frequently invited as a speaker and visiting lecturer at national and international universities. Since 2011 I am based at the University of the Free State as the Director of the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice and from 2014, also as an advisor to the Vice-Chancellor.

I serve on various structures in the human rights and higher education sectors and was appointed as a member of the Ministerial Committee on Higher Education Transformation in South Africa in 2013. Since 2015, I am also a member of the SA Council for Higher Education. Originally from Kylemore in the Stellenbosch region, I qualified as a teacher from the University of the Western Cape in South Africa where he also completed his Masters’ degree in Education (Cum Laude) in 1995. A PhD degree from the University of Pretoria was conferred on him in 2007. My research interest are.

1. Social Justice, Social Cohesion and Reconciliation.
2. Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation
3. Human Rights and Human Rights Education.

I have offered a range of consulting services over a period of 20 years; and combine astute top and executive management, intellectual creativity, strategic leadership and vast practical experience into an industrious combination.